Saturday, October 4, 2014

Three Years and Readers Like You

Today is the third anniversary of this blog.  Three years, 403 posts about my garden and gardening adventures and three hundred thousand pageviews from Readers Like You.

Thanks!



It's been a busy year trying to get a lot more done in the garden than in past years.  The focus recently has been pulling together the various parts to look like an integrated whole and I'll post some of those projects soon.  The last few days I've been preparing for visits from gardening friends including the Home and Garden editor of our local newspaper--no pressure or anything.

Today I'll be volunteering at Heather/Xericstyle's yard for the Watersaver Landscape Tour with a view toward having my garden on the same tour next year.  Again, no pressure.

Three years and 300K pageviews is an interesting statistical coincidence.  I'll save my annual look back until the end of the calendar year and share a few stats for the first time on my blog.  There are many ways to measure how a blog is doing and one way is with pageviews.  Much information on how to improve pageviews has been published and I've ignored most of it in favor of writing about what interests me.  That's what you seem to enjoy anyway.  I've listed a few of my most popular posts along with ideas on how they got that way.

My most popular post is a how-to on propagating barrel cactus pups from 2012.  The post was linked on a Gardening Know How Q&A thread which boosted it to 5,000 pageviews.  That's a lot of cactus pups!   I feel like a grand-pup-mother or something.  The original cactus is pregnant with twins again.  Anyway, it's nice to know my blog is providing useful information out there.



In a close second place is the shed how-to post.  When we decided to build our own shed we found very little DIY info out there so apparently we filled a niche with more than 4,800 pageviews.  Glad I could (ahem) shed some light on the subject.


My post on Jennifer and Fred Meyers' garden in Austin was linked on Paradis Express in January.  Quite cool since I enjoyed Paradis Express well before I began blogging.  She even gave my blog a positive mention in the text.  My first ever exercise in posting a garden on tour went pretty well with just about 3,000 pageview.


One of the fastest ways to see a jump in pageviews is for Pam Penick to link it at Digging or on her Facebook page.

It's Pam's birthday today so Happy Birthday Pam!  Thanks for the link love and blogging inspiration over the last three years.

So it seems the best way to improve readership is to post what readers want to read, link, or share.  Who knew?

The most important part is that I've had fun challenging myself to get out in the garden and around town more to bring my observations to you.  So thanks to for reading and commenting these last three years and I hope to see you around as I begin my fourth year of blogging.

39 comments:

  1. Happy Blogaversary, Shirley! Kudos on blogging for 3 years!

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    1. Thank you, and here's to many more years of blogging for both of us!

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  2. Congrats, Shirley! 403 posts with 300k pageviews in 3 years is quite an accomplishment! I hope to see you posting on your blog for a long time to come.

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  3. really enjoy your blog-and was quite a treat to meet you and Heather both at the garden walk today. Being a recent(2yrs) transplant from the midwest, I've got alot to learn about gardening "Texas-style" and your blog is very helpful

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    1. Thank you and so very nice to meet you too. There was such a nice variety of garden styles on the tour this year to show what will work here.

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  4. Happy anniversary, Shirley! I certainly enjoy your posts. Your insights into gardening under drought conditions have been helpful and I've had a good time dogging your heels, virtually speaking, on your garden tours and similar adventures. I look forward to reading more about your pending challenges in future posts.

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    1. Thank you Kris, it's been fun following your new garden with the stunning view of the harbor.

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  5. Happy happy happy to you! I love your blog and am so glad you jump into the scene. :o) The 3rd photo has such an old west feel to it. I keep expecting a gun slinging cowboy to jump out of the shed. :o)

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    1. Looks like I succeeded in putting a little Texas style into that shed.

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  6. Thank you for the birthday wishes, Shirley! I've so enjoyed your blog and learning more about San Antonio's gardening scene from your blog over the past three years. Here's to many more!

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  7. Congratulations on three years. I have enjoyed seeing the changes in your garden over the years and look forward to many more. Congrats too on the newspaper and tour. I completely understand that there is "no pressure" when you put your garden on display for others to see, especially when you can't control what they see like you can when you take pictures for a blog post. I was out in my garden today because I am giving a tour for a garden club in a couple of weeks.

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    1. We bloggers do have a code for viewing each other's gardens that doesn't apply in other fields of media so it is a concern. I think she's interested in the blogging aspect of gardening so it should go well.

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  8. 3 years, yay! I do hope to actually meet you in person some day. Better yet to get to see your garden too!

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    1. I know I would enjoy that too Loree and you would love seeing all the spiky goodness growing in San Antonio.

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  9. Your third photo does make me think of the deserty San Antonio I knew as a kid. I feel like the climate here is getting closer to that, last summer was really hot and dry, so more of your gardening selections may work here. Happy 3rd Blogaversary!

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    1. At the tour on Saturday there was a lot of discussion on climate and there are only a few of us that remember San Antonio has been through this before.

      We have had several mild summers with cold winters so it is an interesting pattern. I'm curious what this winter will bring.

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  10. Happy third blogaversary!
    The advice from the man who knows, Matt Cutts at Google, is to write for your readers.

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    1. Imagine that! It's important that the writer is passionate about the subject too.

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  11. Happy 3rd year blogging Shirley! You are such an inspiration to me and I learn so much from your blog. Thank you for sharing your gardening knowledge and travels to gardening sites. I look forward to reading your blog for many years to come!

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    1. One of the special things about this blog is that I got to know you and your garden because of blogging.

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  12. Good work all around. Those are impressive statistics indeed, accurately reflecting both the entertainment value and utility your blog posts offer. Here's to another three years and hundreds of thousands of page views yet to come!

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    1. Entertainment and utility, I like that. It's important to mix it up a bit to keep things interesting.

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  13. yay! Congratulations!!!!

    You have done sooooo much, and everything is so incredible....San Antonio is not going to know what hit them when you open your yard for the tour!!!!! Really!!!!

    I appreciated you so much coming out and running our tour - I hope one day I can return the sweet favor.

    Looking forward to your 4th year of blogging, and following you close.

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    1. It was my pleasure Heather, I enjoyed doing it so much.

      The tour was such a success and it was fun to see so many people embracing your funky cool retro modern style.

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  14. Happy Blogaversary! Time flies by.
    Your garden has been an inspiration.

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    1. It does fly and thank you for the nice compliment.

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  15. Cheers! I've enjoyed all your posts, Shirley. Interesting that the most popular posts are ones that you don't necessarily expect. You deserve all the kudos. Congratulations!

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    1. The most popular post are mostly due to one-time visitors and not necessarily my reader's favorites. I'll see if I can figure that out for next time.

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  16. Congratulations on the great stats Shirley and happy third year blog anniversary! Looking forward to reading more of your gardening posts and adventures as you enter your fourth year and beyond :)

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    1. Thanks, I'd love to have more adventures to share too!

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  17. Three years down and no let-down in sight. That's an impressive track record and I'm enjoying coming along for the ride.

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    1. Well I did cut back on posts here and there this year but I think I'm back on the trail now.

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  18. Happy anniversary, Shirley! Looking forward to seeing your garden in person in a couple weeks!

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    1. That will be fun Cat, look forward to it too!

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  19. Congrats on 3 yrs and such incredible readership...so well deserved as your blog is one of the best!!

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    1. Thank you, that's very nice to hear!

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  20. I am so happy to read your posts...always. BUT happier to be your friend.

    :)

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